Stalingrad And The Turning Point On The Soviet-German Front, 1941-1943

By Captain Dennis W. Dingle

This study is an historical analysis of the Soviet-German conflict during World War II and focuses on the years 1941-1943. It examines the relative economic and military power of the two nations to determine if there was a shift in advantage, or turning point, during that period. To quantify those elements of power, it uses criteria taken from a current strategic analysis model. This model assesses elements of national power to aid in strategic problem solving and international policy formulation. Specific criteria are applied to four specific military events between 1941 and 1943. The resulting data is then graphed to compare relative military and economic power. The graphs serve as the basis for conclusions.
Among the conclusions which may be drawn from this study are: the Battle of Stalingrad was not the economic turning point of the war when considering the criteria of industrial labor and armaments production; Stalingrad was the military turning point, considering military forces and equipment on the Soviet-German front.
This study concludes that this method of assessing relative national power of nations can be applied in an historical context to evaluate past wars. It may assist historians to better understand the factors that led to various turning points throughout history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Verdun Press
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782897163

Captain Dennis W. Dingle

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Text originally published in 1993 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

STALINGRAD AND THE TURNING POINT ON THE SOVIET-GERMAN FRONT, 1941-1943

By

Captain Dennis W. Dingle, USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6

LIST OF MAPS 7

LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES 8

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION 9

Review of Literature 9

Military Turning Point 9

Psychological Turning Point 11

Economic Turning Point 12

Opposing Views 12

Method 14

CHAPTER 2 — BACKGROUND 17

CHAPTER 3 — GEOGRAPHY, POLITICS, AND NATIONAL WILL 26

Geography 26

Political Power 26

National Will 27

CHAPTER 4 — THE ECONOMIES OF GERMANY AND THE SOVIET UNION 28

THE GERMAN ECONOMY, 1941-1943 31

Administration 32

Labor 33

Raw Materials 35

Armaments Production 35

Summary 36

THE SOVIET ECONOMY, 1941-1943. 37

Administration 37

Armaments Production 38

Labor 39

Natural Resources 39

Transportation 40

Lend-Lease 40

Summary 41

CHAPTER 5 — THE SOVIET AND GERMAN ARMIES 42

Background 42

THE GERMAN ARMY, 1941-1943 43

Forces 43

Equipment 45

Leadership 46

Summary 48

THE RED ARMY, 1941-1943 49

Forces 49

Equipment 50

Leadership 52

Summary 54

CHAPTER 6 — COMPARISON OF ECONOMIC AND MILITARY POWER 55

Economic Comparison 55

Labor 55

Armaments Production 58

Summary 63

Military Comparison Forces 63

Equipment 66

Summary 70

CHAPTER 7 — CONCLUSION 71

APPENDIX A 74

ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL POWER 74

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 76

BIBLIOGRAPHY 77

Books 77

Government Documents 79

Periodicals and Articles 79

Doctoral Dissertations 80

ABSTRACT

This study is an historical analysis of the Soviet-German conflict during World War II and focuses on the years 1941-1943. It examines the relative economic and military power of the two nations to determine if there was a shift in advantage, or turning point, during that period. To quantify those elements of power, it uses criteria taken from a current strategic analysis model. This model assesses elements of national power to aid in strategic problem solving and international policy formulation. Specific criteria are applied to four specific military events between 1941 and 1943. The resulting data is then graphed to compare relative military and economic power. The graphs serve as the basis for conclusions.

Among the conclusions which may be drawn from this study are: the Battle of Stalingrad was not the economic turning point of the war when considering the criteria of industrial labor and armaments production; Stalingrad was the military turning point, considering military forces and equipment on the Soviet-German front.

This study concludes that this method of assessing relative national power of nations can be applied in an historical context to evaluate past wars. It may assist historians to better understand the factors that led to various turning points throughout history.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank my thesis committee for sharing their knowledge, their critiques and their always professional advice. I also wish to recognize the staff of the Combined Arms Research Library for their prompt and courteous service in obtaining reference materials. And finally, I want to thank my family for their patience and support during these past months. They have helped me much more than they realize.

D.W. Dingle, 1989

LIST OF MAPS

MAP 1—The Soviet-German Front, December 1941

MAP 2—The German Campaign, June 1942

Map 3—The Soviet Counteroffensive, November 1942

Map 4—The Battle of Kursk, July 1943

LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES

TABLE 4.1—German Armament Production, April-December 1941

TABLE 4.2—German Labor Force, 1941-1943

TABLE 4.3—German War Production, 1941-1943

TABLE 4.4—Soviet War Production, 1941-1943

TABLE 4.5—Soviet Industrial Labor Force, 1941-1943

TABLE 5.1—German Army Forces/Equipment, 1941-1943

TABLE 5.2—Red Army Forces/Equipment, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.1—Industrial Labor, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.2—Tank Production, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.3—Gun Production, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.4—A/C Production

FIGURE 6.5—Armed Forces, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.6—Guns/Mortars, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.7—Tanks/SP Artillery, 1941-1943

FIGURE 6.8—Combat Aircraft

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION

In November 1942 the war on the Soviet-German Front was entering its seventeenth month. For the second consecutive year, the German Army made significant advances into Soviet territory. In 1942, however, the progress was not so rapid and early German victories were more costly than those in 1941. By November, the Wehrmacht’s advance into the Caucasus was stalled and Army Group South was locked in a fierce struggle with determined Soviet defenders in the city of Stalingrad.

On 19 November, the Soviet Union struck back. Six Soviet armies attacked the weak German flank to the north of Stalingrad, and a day later launched a similar offensive operation from the south. By 23 November, the German forces at Stalingrad were encircled. German attempts to relieve them failed in the face of growing Soviet strength. By 2 February 1943, the reduction of the pocket was complete. The Germans lost the entire Sixth Army and part of the Fourth Panzer Army, in excess of 200,000 men. The powerful and confident Wehrmacht had suffered a significant defeat.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major blow to the German war effort. It cost Germany numerous losses of soldiers and equipment. This battle raises several interesting questions regarding its impact on the final outcome of the Soviet-German conflict during World War II. For example, was the Battle of Stalingrad the turning point of the war on the German Eastern Front? Did Hitler lose the strategic initiative as a result of this battle? Was the Soviet Union now the stronger of the two antagonists? These are the questions that this study will attempt to answer.

Review of Literature

Many historians have